Separation of molecular constituents is necessary when only small amounts of the sample are available. Under these circumstances the other constituents in the sample can interfere with the analysis.
It is therefore an object of the instant invention to be able to provide real time read out of the degree of ion separation.
Finally, there is a need for general, non-selective detectors with high sensitivity.
The use of MS shutters is known in the art. However, these applications use the shutter in an open or shut configuration. Also, changing operation from a shutter configuration to an ion collector requires manual changes in the detection system.